IMF chief Christine Lagarde: Greece must offer deeds, not creeds

Greece will need to offer "deeds, not creeds" to the Eurozone and its other creditors,International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde said 29 July. Lagarde made her comments as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras worked to tamp down opposition within his Syriza party to bend beyond the demands Greece agreed to when it signed a €86bn (£60bn, $94bn) bailout deal on 12 July.

"What will be critical, in my view, is what the Greek authorities are actually prepared to do," said Legarde. "Not the words around it, not the political noise."

Tsipras told Greek radio station Sto Kokkino that his government "will implement these commitments, irrespective of whether we agree with it or not, but nothing beyond that".

The county's creditors are calling for more reforms — including an end to tax breaks for farmers — that go beyond what Tspiras was able to push through parliament this month following the 5 July referendum. Greek banks reopened 20 July after being closed for a month and the country's stock market has got the go-ahead to start trading again on 30 July.

The deal will help keep Greece afloat for the next three years. However, there are still massive changes that need to be made before it can pay off the €323bn in debt it owes creditors at the European Central Bank (ECB) and IMF.

"For a program to succeed and Greece to turn around its economy and social situation will take four key components," said Lagarde. The components include "sensible fiscal targets with clear structural measures" to remodel the economy, cuts to tariffs and protections because the country is "far too constrained," along with significant financing and "debt restructuring".

Lagardesaid it is inevitable there will be an element of debt restructuring, but did not elaborate on what the IMF would do to the debt Greece owes. The new round of reforms being pressed by the eurozone come as Greek officials meet with their creditors in Athens to begin finalising the bail out package.